Topic Overview

ITS's Learning Environments and Media Production (LEMP) department supports SU's technology classrooms, university computing labs, loaner instructional equipment, satellite and videoconferencing telecommunications, and special events. For obvious reasons, classroom and lab support are the highest priorities for LEMP. Technical support of special events sponsored by SU faculty and staff is a relatively new LEMP fee-based service (see list of ITS special events service examples at the end of this document).

Prior to 2002, campus support for academically related events was a shared responsibility between Event Productions (EP) and Classroom Presentation Services (CPS, now Learning Environments)). In 2002 EP became Event and Technical Services and began to concentrate almost entirely on student sponsored events taking place within the Schine Student Center. The intention of this document is to clarify the role of LEMP in supporting special events and to identify support limitations related to facility, staff, or equipment resources.

There are many events for which LEMP simply does not have adequate equipment or staff resources to support. In those instances, LEMP staff may be available to act in a consulting or even a brokerage role in terms of communicating event requirements and facility information to commercial service providers. Some companies with which LEMP has worked successfully with in the past are listed in the Outsourcing section below.

Please note that the in and out of scope sections below are guidelines to assist event planners in working with LEMP and/or commercial service providers. LEMP will be as flexible as resources allow in working with these guidelines. Out of scope requests require the approval of the ITS director of LEMP.

Lead Time

Adequate lead time is necessary to provide quality special events technical support services. Two weeks is the minimum lead time required by LEMP to plan support of a simple special event (e.g. scheduling an operator for an existing in-house system). A minimum of one month lead time is required for more complicated events, such as those requiring delivery and set up of audio, computer, or video systems. One hour is the minimum set up time required for simple events. Some events, such as the 2006 Al Gore presentation require much more lead and set up time.

In Scope

• Requests with sufficient lead time and set up time
• Events for which there are adequate LEMP staff and equipment resources to properly support
• Syracuse University events
• Academic or academic-related events
• On campus events and events on University property
• Events during office hours (After hours support depends on staff availability)
• Special Events sponsored by SU faculty and staff

Out of Scope

• Requests without adequate lead time and set up time
• Events for which there are not adequate LEMP staff and equipment resources to properly support
• Non-Syracuse University events
• Off campus events and events not on University property
• Outdoor events
• Conferences
  • Multiple day conferences
  • Conferences requiring more than two technical support staff
• Event production
• Musical and theatrical events
• Student sponsored events unless approved by Student Life and/or Student Centers and Programming Services for use of already installed systems

Outsourcing

When requested support of special events is out of scope or beyond LEMP's ability to support, there are a number of commercial service providers that may be used. Some examples follow:

ITS special events service examples

• Consulting and event planning (relevant to AV needs)
• Technical referral service
• Coordination of equipment and technical assistance provided by outside vendors if outsourcing for equipment and/or technical assistance is required
• Provide public address systems, audiovisual equipment, and computer/video projection systems to the university community for special events
• Technical assistance to operate equipment/systems
• Auditoria and venue public address system operation
• Live streaming media
• Conference support (limited to single day events requiring no more than simultaneous support of two ITS staff)

Sources and Relevant Links

Special Events Information

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